Oquawka, Illinois

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A grave marker for Norma Jean the elephant.

Oquawka is a village in Henderson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,539 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Henderson County.^GR6

Within the city exists a memorial and grave marker to a circus elephant named Norma Jean, which perished on July 17, 1972 after being struck by lightning. The pachyderm was attached to a small circus that trained and performed in the city. Norma Jean was buried on the spot, and the circus, without its star attraction, closed within a year.

[edit] Geography

Oquawka is located at 40°56′20″N, 90°56′57″W (40.938880, -90.949044).^GR1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 4.8 km² (1.9 mi²). 3.8 km² (1.5 mi²) of it is land and 1.0 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (21.08%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,539 people, 656 households, and 421 families residing in the village. The population density was 407.0/km² (1,051.8/mi²). There were 736 housing units at an average density of 194.6/km² (503.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.38% White, 0.06% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.13% Asian, and 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.71% of the population.

There were 656 households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the village the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $32,500, and the median income for a family was $38,152. Males had a median income of $29,333 versus $18,571 for females. The per capita income for the village was $15,254. About 8.4% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.6% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] External links

Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 40.93888° -90.949044°
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

	Municipalities and Communities of Henderson County, Illinois (County Seat: Oquawka)
Cities, Towns and Villages	Biggsville \| Carthage Lake \| Decorra \| Gladstone \| Gulf Port \| Hopper \| Lomax \| Media \| Olena \| Oquawka \| Raritan \| Shokonon \| Stronghurst
Townships	Bald Bluff \| Biggsville \| Carman \| Gladstone \| Lomax \| Media \| Oquawka \| Raritan \| Rozetta \| Stronghurst \| Terre Haute